The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 17 -

And Elijah the Tishbite, from the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord lives, the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew or rain during these years, except by the words of my mouth.”(a)

And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

“Withdraw from here, and go toward the east, and hide at the torrent Cherith, which is opposite the Jordan.

And there you shall drink from the torrent. And I have instructed the ravens to feed you there.”

Therefore, he went and acted in accord with the word of the Lord. And going away, he settled by the torrent Cherith, which is opposite the Jordan.

And the ravens carried bread and flesh to him in the morning, and likewise bread and flesh in the evening. And he drank from the torrent.

But after some days, the torrent dried up. For it had not rained upon the earth.

The Widow of Zarephath

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

“Rise up, and go to Zarephath of the Sidonians, and dwell there. For I have instructed a widowed woman there to feed you.”(b)

He rose up and went away to Zarephath. And when he had arrived at the gate of the city, he saw the widowed woman collecting wood, and he called to her. And he said to her, “Give me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.”

And as she was going to bring it, he called out after her, saying, “Bring me also, I beg you, a morsel of bread in your hand.”

And she responded: “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, except a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a bottle. See, I am collecting a couple of sticks, so that I may go in and make it for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”(c)

And Elijah said to her: “Do not be afraid. But go and do as you have said. Yet truly, first make for me, from the same flour, a little bread baked under ashes, and bring it to me. Then afterward, make some for yourself and for your son.

For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not fail, nor the bottle of oil be diminished, until the day when the Lord will grant rain upon the face of the earth.’ ”

She went and acted in accord with the word of Elijah. And he ate, and she and her household ate. And from that day,

the jar of flour did not fail, and the bottle of oil was not diminished, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the hand of Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

Now it happened that, after these things, the son of the woman who was the mother of the family became ill. And the sickness was very powerful, so that no breath remained in him.

Therefore, she said to Elijah: “What is there between you and me, O man of God? Have you entered to me, so that my iniquities would be remembered, and so that you would put to death my son?”

And Elijah said to her, “Give your son to me.” And he took him from her bosom, and he carried him to an upper room, where he himself was staying. And he placed him on his own bed.

And he cried out to the Lord, and he said, “O Lord, my God, have you even afflicted the widow by whom I am, in a sense, sustained, so that you would put to death her son?”

And he stretched himself out beside the boy three times. And he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, let the soul of this boy, I beg you, return to his body.”(d)

And the Lord heeded the voice of Elijah. And the soul of the boy returned to him, and he revived.

And Elijah took the boy, and he brought him down from the upper room to the lower part of the house. And he gave him to his mother. And he said to her, “See, your son lives.”

And the woman said to Elijah: “By this, I now realize that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.”

Footnotes

(a)17:1 This is a foreshadowing of the two prophets of Revelation, who will have the power to cause drought and other harm anywhere on earth, throughout the earth, during the days of their preaching.(Conte)

(b)17:9 Sarephta of the Sidonians:That is, a city of the Sidonians.(Challoner)

(c)17:12 The eschatological meaning of the text refers to the Church in the end times, during the tribulation, when it will seem as if the Church is about to perish. But by the grace and providence and miraculous intervention of God, the Church will not perish.(Conte)

(d)17:21 Literally, the text says that Elijah “measured” (mensus est), in other words, he stretched himself out beside or over the boy as one would stretch out a measuring line.(Conte)

Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Then the LORD’s word came to him, saying,

“Go away from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

So he went and did according to the LORD’s word, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith that is before the Jordan.

The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

After a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

The LORD’s word came to him, saying,

“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”

So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

She said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.

For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”

She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, he, and her household ate many days.

The jar of meal didn’t run out and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

After these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”

He said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed.

He cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”

He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.”

The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.”

The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the LORD’s word in your mouth is truth.”